British CSGO pro player Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield has joined London-based organisation Fnatic on a three-month trial, after being released from Movistar Riders.
The news comes after smooya helped Fnatic reach the IEM Closed Qualifier last weekend as a stand-in, forming a temporary UK trio with Alex and Mezii.
Smooya said in a Twitlonger post: “For those who enjoyed the British Fnatic flag, you’re about to be really excited for a LONG time.
“This is a situation that I never thought I would see myself in because of my past mistakes throughout my career but all I can say is thank you to [Fnatic CSGO team director] Andreas Samuelsson for believing in me so much, by putting his own reptuation on the line to secure this move.
“I’m joining with a very open mindset and reasonable expectations for myself and the team, here to work hard every day, not only in game, but to develop myself as a person too. I’ve been waiting for a chance like this for years and I think now is the perfect time for this to happen.”
A few hours prior to this announcement, smooya published a separate Twitlonger saying he was a free agent and is ‘open to offers’ in CSGO and Valorant, in Europe or North America.
The news comes after smooya was benched by Movistar back in August.
In a Twitlonger posted today, smooya said: “Well well well. Today I’m being released from my Movistar contract making me a unrestricted free agent. Thank you so so much to Movistar Riders for our time together and taking this step to help progress my career. I will forever be in debt to you. I’m proud to have played for another major organisation.”
“For those who enjoyed the British Fnatic flag, you’re about to be really excited for a LONG time.”
smooya
There’s a host of UK talent in Valorant – more so than CSGO. Fnatic and Team Liquid have several UK players, and there are many UK casters, hosts and coaches in the game, some of which have moved from CSGO to Valorant.
For example, the UK was the most represented region in Valorant EU Stage 3 Challengers 2 earlier this year.
Further reading: Why UK talent is shining in Valorant compared to CSGO – Fnatic head coach mini explains
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
